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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hide · bass · pop · calf · field · cold · board · band

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. pop — music
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. field — for sport
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. band — a music group
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. board — a committee
  12. pop — soda
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. band — a ring
  15. bass — low music
  16. pop — to visit
  17. board — to get on
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. cold — an illness
  22. field — farmland
  23. bass — the fish
  24. cold — not warm

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com